The Markets

Ongoing portfolio globalization and the increasing role of “alternative” investments - hedge funds, private equity and real estate - are expected to reshape institutional investment in North America.

Dow Jones Indexes and UBS Investment Bank announced they are adding eight commodity subindexes to the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index family.

Stock and bond fund inflows were $31.9 billion, while equities posted net inflows of $17.7 billion, according to Financial Research Corporation (FRC) data. 

U.S. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) continued to outperform the broader equity market in the first quarter of 2011, according to NAREIT.

Bank of America Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM) president Sallie Krawcheck hosted a discussion on how the crises in Japan and the Middle East may affect investors...

About one-third of participants using Putnam Investments’ Lifetime Income Analysis Tool have made changes to their deferral rates. 

A Franklin Templeton poll found half of respondents are planning to invest outside their home country this year, with 62% planning to do so over the next decade.

Average fees and expenses incurred by investors in long-term mutual funds declined in 2010, according to a recent study.

Total assets held in employer-sponsored retirement plans was $10.2 trillion at the end of 2010, up 11% from $9.3 trillion a year earlier, a Spectrem Group analysis indicates.

An analysis from Vanguard finds that about half of mixed target-date investing - holding a target-date fund in combination with other investments - stems from sponsor actions.

ProShares launched what it says is the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) that provides inverse exposure to the high yield bond market.

In testimony at a Senate committee hearing, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that 401(k) plan participants can receive part of the profits from securities lending, but would...

Russell Investments is launching the Russell Global 3000 Index series of 18 indexes — all sub-components of the Russell Global Index.

Long-term funds in Asia saw $8.7 billion of flows in January, with new launches collecting over 100% of the total contributions, according to Strategic Insight, an Asset International...

More than three-quarters of retirement plan sponsors have emerging markets equities in their investment lineups or are considering adding them, according to a Grant Thornton survey.

A Franklin Templeton Investments survey found 71% of advisers believe the greatest investment opportunities over the next decade will be outside the U.S. 

Van Eck Global has launched Market Vectors Colombia ETF (COLX), designed for investors seeking direct, targeted exposure to Colombian equities.

ETF flows eased their pace for the second consecutive month, but ended in the black with a roughly $6.8 billion monthly inflow, according to the Morningstar Direct Fund...

Flows into long-term mutual funds hit $27.9 billion in February, nearly matching January’s total of $29.8 billion, according to the Morningstar Direct Fund Flows Update.

National Advisors Trust's assets have gone from a low of $3.7 billion in March 2009, to $7.2 billion in March 2011.